


The Alien Connection

by Wolfgirl19



Series: Knox: A Sims Wingfic Series [5]
Category: The Sims (Video Games)
Genre: Abandoned Laboratories, Aliens, College Life, Gen, Malnutrition, Mentions Of Unethical Experimentation, Robots, Secrets Revealed, Tags will update with each chapter, Wingfic, a sprinkling of Hurt/Comfort elements, cause even a distinguished student like Erwin needs grocery money, cause even this fic needs the occasional swear word, coarse language, college student struggles, mentions of the starving student trope, some language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:00:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29828763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfgirl19/pseuds/Wolfgirl19
Summary: Erwin stumbles upon a dream come true for him: an alien. Unfortunately for him, its a sickly alien.Or, Erwin and Knox, and even Cameron and his newly built Servo Conrad, find themselves caring for an ill alien and uncovering a dark secret about Britechester along the way.
Series: Knox: A Sims Wingfic Series [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2057451





	1. Found

**Author's Note:**

> A new update in the series? Yep.
> 
> A multichapter fic? You bet.
> 
> One that involves the cast getting caught up in a dark secret? Hell yeah.
> 
> Is this the author's way of notifying readers this fic will see irregular updates? Well, yes.
> 
> Will there be some creative liberties regarding how the author portrays elements from The Sims 4's Discover University Expansion Pack, alongside a few more headcanons? If it helps improve the story, then also yes. 
> 
> With this note format out of the way, hope you guys enjoy!

Erwin was in his dorm late that night, finishing up the presentation he was working on all evening, making sure that everything attached to the presentation board, from the notes to charts to the snazzy, attention grabbing title and decorations, were all in place for next week's session of his distinguished degree class "Robots of Land, Sea, and Sky."

"With this, I'll get an A for sure," Erwin told himself proudly, convinced that this presentation will outdo the one Cameron Fletcher got him an A from the professor and many praises from his peers last semester.

He checked the clock on the wall above his bed, not realizing how late it was until he saw it read 1:35 a.m.

"Guess I better call it a night."

Erwin plopped himself on his bed, not bothering to change out of clothes and into something more comfy, already feeling himself succumb to his exhaustion from doing nothing but completing his homework and studying all day.

He didn't know how long he slept for when the sound of something loud and deafening woke him up, the now startled Erwin nearly rolling off his bed. He got off the bed, slowly approaching the window on the other side of the room to see it was raining outside, the sound of thunder replacing the silence of his dorm room. He felt relived to know that it was just the sound a thunderstorm, and not the roars of some monster or another version of the Mother Plant, peeking out the window to watch the heavy rain fall from the sky, the downpour making the view of the rest of the Foxbury campus hard to make out, even from how high up his dorm was within Briny Tower. He began heading back to bed when the silhouette outside caught his eye.

Curious, he looked out again, seeing a figure stumbling through the rain, nearly losing their balance as they walked, the rain soaking whatever clothing they had on them, Erwin unable to tell if it was a shirt or a really weird dress they wore.

Concerned for the figure, Erwin quickly put on the raincoat he left on the floor and grabbed his phone off the computer desk, taking the umbrella he kept by the doorway before he exited the dorm. He went down the hall and rode the elevator down to the main lobby, running outside, open umbrella shielding him from the rain, to approach the figure, who froze in place as Erwin ran closer to them. Their body, still struggling to keep itself standing, finally gave up, forcing them to fall down by the time Erwin reached them, the redhead kneeling next to the figure as they laid on the ground, their back facing Erwin, their body shivering from the cold rain soaking them.

"Are you okay?" Erwin asked them with concern. "If you need help, I can try to..."

Erwin trailed off now that he could see the figure more closely. The figure was a man his age, his body slim and skeletal, Erwin able to see his ribs poke up from under his current outfit, a long, sleeveless hospital gown. What really surprised him, however, was the man's cyan skin tone, which was way too bright to belong to the other supernatural life states he knew of. The man began rolling onto his other side, Erwin standing up and backing away to give the man space and fully see what he really was.

An alien. Erwin knew this because of the man's large, oval shaped eyes of pure black for both the irises and sclera, as if neither existed as separate parts of the eye at all. The points of his pointy ears poked out of his long, sliver hair, most of the strands obscuring his face, it's structure somewhat long and gaunt, which as Erwin noted, could be able to pass for a human's facial structure as long as it was seen from a distance.

As much as he felt excited from finding an actual, factual alien right in front of him, the alien's appearance matching the descriptions his UFO forum buddies said when discussing what aliens looked like, something about this alien made Erwin feel that something was wrong with him, the alien looking badly malnourished, their appearance resembling a sickly animal clinging on to what life it had left despite its current state of weakness.

The alien, upon lifting his head up to see Erwin standing in front of him, panicked and tried to run away, having difficulty in getting his weak body off the ground, letting himself fall back down with a small cry, knowing he wasn't in any condition to evade the human in front of him. Erwin saw this and attempted to reassure the alien, telling him,

"I won't hurt you, if that's what you think will happen." He cautiously stepped closer to the alien and knelt back down, the alien observing his every move, wanting to make sure this human's intentions weren't harmful. He flinched back when Erwin reached out a hand towards him, only for the human to not make another move, not even an attack. "See? I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to offer you help, get you out of this storm even. Will you accept? No pressure if you don't."

The alien took a moment to decide, allowing Erwin time to question to himself as to why an alien was wandering the Foxbury campus of all places in Britechester, or how he got here to begin with, the only theory Erwin could come up with was a laboratory of some sort based on the alien's hospital gown, yet no other identifiers of a test subject, such as a tattoo or similar mark, could be found. His thoughts were cut off when the alien finally, if reluctantly, put his hand in Erwin's.

"Think you're able to stand?" Erwin asked, hoping this alien had some energy left to walk back to the dorm.

"I think so," came the alien's metallic voice, sounding unsure as he spoke.

Erwin helped him up, carrying the alien back to the main lobby, thankful the lobby's cameras were still shut off for repairs to notice them entering the elevator and riding up to the top floor. They sped out of the elevator the moment the doors opened, Erwin carrying the alien inside his dorm, having him sit in his desk chair while he made sure no one else followed, locking every lock he installed on the door when he first moved here. Checking on the alien, he saw that his gown was soaking wet, rushing to his dresser and tossing out clothing all over the place until he found the flannel pajamas his mom mailed him as a birthday present last year.

"Take this," Erwin said, handing the pajamas to the alien, who shyly accepted them. "Do you need help changing?"

The alien shook his head.

"I'll turn around while you change then. Just give me a holler when you're done, but please don't literally holler unless you want to wake up the entire building."

Erwin turned around as he waited for the alien to change, giving him time to think of a plan on how to care for the alien without the other students and faculty getting suspicious, assuming people actually cared about the life and struggles of Erwin Pries. Then there's the issue of how to buy extra groceries for the alien with his already limited food budget, what to do when the alien's well enough to leave, or what to do if he discovers the alien was actually hostile. If he was in fact hostile, then what was Erwin doing allowing himself to turn his back on the alien?

"I'm done now," the alien timidly said from behind him.

Erwin spun around to see the alien was changed, the shirt and pants of the pajama set too big on his skeletal frame. He folded up the gown he wore as he carefully sat back down in the chair.

"You can toss away that gown since it's not gonna be useful anymore," Erwin told him, pointing to the trash can next to the computer desk. "You can use that trash can. And by the way, are you able to eat human food?"

The alien nodded, tossing the folded gown in the trash as Erwin continued.

"Then you can have the leftover pizza in the mini-fridge, or what leftover pizza I managed to snatch from yesterday's student rally. Or I can heat you up a bowl of ramen, that being one of the few foods I can afford to stockpile right now."

The alien tilted his head, not quite understanding what the human was talking about.

"Oh right," Erwin realized. "You probably don't know much about the struggles of your average university student. I'll try my best to explain when I'm not busy in class later. And speaking of which..."

Erwin checked the clock again, seeing the new time was 6:15 a.m.

"I guess I've got time, since it's only a quarter past six." Another realization came to Erwin. "Wait...that's when the free breakfast program starts!"

"Free breakfast program?" the alien asked curiously.

"Only available to eligible students on a budget like myself. Now where's my student ID?"

Erwin found his wallet on the computer desk, the student ID still where he kept it. 

"As for you," Erwin began telling the alien. "You stay here, make yourself comfortable or something while I try to smuggle back some food for us. More importantly, don't answer the door for anyone or any reason, even if you hear screaming and shouting, while I'm gone, got it?"

The alien gave a nod of understanding.

"And you can use my bed if you want," Erwin offered. "It's more comfy than that chair."

"Um, okay," the alien said. "Can you help me get there, though? I don't think I can walk anymore."

"Not a problem."

Erwin helped the alien up again and sat him on the bed, covering him with a spare blanket he had lying around, not wanting to risk the alien developing hypothermia while he was out. The alien looked snug in the blanket, reminding Erwin of a dog in a blanket burrito, the alien feeling himself beginning to doze off from how warm and comfortable he felt from the blanket wrapped around him.

"There we go. Now just stay put. Oh, and the name's Erwin in case you wanted to know that."

"Axel," the alien replied tiredly. "My name is Axel."

"Axel? Good to know."

Axel laid on the bed to sleep as Erwin left for the long trip to the cafeteria, hoping to himself Axel would be alright while he was out. Then again, he thought of what would happen to Axel while he was out and about for today, remembering that he had his two Friday classes, he had to attend a meeting with the Bot Savants afterwards, and he had to make time for the study club he joined last week for help with his term papers, all with ridiculously short breaks in-between. This busy schedule meant that he would be gone all day after breakfast, leaving Axel alone in his dorm, no one to check on him in case something bad were to happen.

Then he had an idea: maybe Axel wouldn't be alone if he can get the help of someone he could trust to keep Axel secret, and the fact this person lived in a city an hour away from Britechester made this idea even better. Erwin stepped in the elevator and got out his phone, glad that he and Knox were able to exchange numbers after their unexpected reunion in StrangerVille last month, making a call to the winged hippie.


	2. Unexpected Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cameron and Conrad find the door to Erwin's dorm partially open, and discover something unexpected in Erwin's bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time! And I should tell you now that there will be a bit of shifting POV's in this fic (Chapter 2 being mostly from Cameron's POV in this case). Now let's move on to the next chapter.

Cameron and his Servo Conrad were walking down the hallway, about to head on the elevator when they stopped to see the door to Erwin's dorm was left partially open, likely on accident.

"Isn't that the dorm of that conspiracy theorist guy you keep telling me about?" Conrad's robotic voice asked Cameron.

"Yeah, but why is it like that, though?"

"Only one way to find out."

Conrad walked towards the door, about to push it open when Cameron grabbed him by the arm, stopping the robot in his tracks.

"You know we can't just barge into someone else's room."

"But what if he's hurt and unable to call for help?" Conrad argued. "What if he left the door like this before a terrible accident?"

"Well first off, we don't know if he's actually in trouble. Second, you have to knock first before entering a room."

"Oh, okay." Conrad was freed of Cameron's grip. "Let me try knocking."

He lifted his hand, only to form a fist and punch the door, slamming it open in the process. The door loudly collided with the wall, and if the ensuing thud was of any indication, left a dent.

"Not that hard!" Cameron scolded.

"But you said-"

"I meant you have to give the door a gentle tap, not punch it like you're an FBI agent or something!"

Conrad was going to justify his actions when a soft noise came from the bed.

"Crap," Cameron began whispering. "You woke him up."

"I did?" Conrad gave a quick glance to the figure shifting under the covers. "I guess I did. Is he okay at least?"

"Probably. Let's go before he figures out who gave him the rude awakening."

Conrad disobeyed Cameron's suggestion, instead going into the messy dorm room, standing in front of the bed to get a glimpse of the figure, a man, Conrad noted to himself, moving under the blanket wrapped around his body, only his face being exposed.

"Conrad, what the hell are you doing?"

"Cameron...that's not Erwin Pries in that bed."

Cameron stepped into the room, leaving the door closed just a crack, moving until he stood in front of the bed next to Conrad.

"What are you talking about? Of course that's Pries. Now let's get out of here before he-"

He was close enough to see the face of the man slowly opening his eyes as he began waking up, and that he wasn't Erwin.

"-wakes up," Cameron finished as the man sat up, unwrapping himself from his blanket cocoon to reveal that he's not even a human, but a cyan colored alien.

The alien moved the blanket over his feet as he gave a yawn, his black eyes adjusting to the somewhat dark room, so far unable to see Cameron standing right next to the bed. Cameron, meanwhile, stood in place, no idea on what to do or how to react to the fact Erwin's ramblings on alien life existing were right for once.

"Erwin?" the tired alien said, turning his head towards Cameron. "Are you back already?" His vision finally adjusted as he became aware that the human in front of him wasn't Erwin. "Wait a minute..."

"Uh...hi?" Cameron awkwardly greeted.

The alien' breathing sped up, kicking the blanket off his feet as his back hit against where the bed met the wall, not keeping his panicked eyes off the unknown human as his chest rapidly went up and down, forcing air in and out of his lungs.

"Woah!" Cameron said with a startle, taking a few steps away from the bed. "It's okay! I mean no harm, see?" he explained, holding his hands up to appear non-threatening. This made the alien slow down his breathing, but he kept his fearful expression. "See?" Cameron continued. "Not gonna hurt you."

Cameron then noticed Conrad still standing next to him, not moving from where he stood.

"What do I do?" the Servo whispered.

"Just stand watch at the door or something. I'll handle this."

"If you say so."

Conrad rushed to the door, opening it a bit to allow him to keep watch as Cameron continued looking at the alien.

Cameron took a moment to study the timid alien, what lighting that shone through the dorm window allowing him to see his frail, vulnerable appearance. Cameron couldn't help but feel sorry for the alien staring at him, a feeling of pity stirring within his chest. It made him want to help the alien however he could, but given the alien's current state of panic, he may be unable to. Remembering that the alien mentioned something about Erwin being gone, Cameron asked him,

"Hey, you mentioned Erwin, right?"

The alien gave a small nod, starting to calm down and appear less scared of Cameron's presence.

"Yeah. He's just trying to help me." The alien's once calm demeanor started to appear defensive. "Why? You're not an enemy of his, are you?"

"No no no," Cameron began, not expecting the sudden defensiveness. "I wouldn't really call it that. Rival and the occasional school project partner seems like a better term. But I don't have any bad intentions. I just wanna do what I can to help you like Pries is, apparently."

This made the alien calm back down again. "Does that mean you're an ally of his? One that I can trust?"

"I guess you can call it that, but you can definitely trust me, as long as your intentions are peaceful too, no offense."

"None taken, considering my kind's reputation on your planet."

"I'm glad we can come to an understanding," Cameron began. "But to make sure things don't go awry, let's make a deal. I won't turn you in to our planet's scientists or the government as long as you don't try to attack, vaporize, experiment, or whatever it is you do to humans on me. Deal?" Cameron held out a hand, the alien confused by the gesture.

"Oh, right," the alien realized, shaking hands with Cameron.

"It's a deal, then," Cameron said.

"And sorry for the lack in response," the alien apologized. "I'm still new to human gestures and customs."

"No biggie. I'm Cameron, by the way. What's your name?"

"Axel."

"Not the most exotic alien name I've heard, but if that's your name, then it doesn't matter."

"Hey. What's that suppose to mean?"

"I don't mean to interrupt your conversation with the alien, but Erwin's coming," Conrad said, grabbing both Cameron and Axel's attention.

"Who's the robot, by the way?" Axel asked.

"My Servo Conrad," Cameron answered. "Who's informing us that we need to leave before Erwin gets furious of us entering his dorm while he was gone."

"I thought you were an ally."

"Not when you're basically in someone else's room, so we really need to go."

"Too late for that now," Conrad announced. "He's coming closer, and with a hippie-looking man, too."

"Shit," Cameron said under his breath as Conrad scurried away from the door.

They both stood in the middle of the room, keeping quiet as the door opened all the way, revealing Erwin and the hippie-looking man, who was currently hiding his mildly annoyed facial expression, the two of them soaked from the current downpour outside.

"Weird, I thought I closed this earlier," Erwin said to himself, using the hand that wasn't balancing the takeout boxes held against his chest to find the light switch. "I just hope no one broke in."

"Really?" the man said. "You really hope that no one got in when you pretty much just left your door partially open as an invitation for someone to just waltz right in and do what they please?"

"I was in a rush, Knox," Erwin justified. "And besides, considering my poor reputation among the other residents of Briny Tower, I doubt that anyone bothered to break in."

The lights came on once Erwin found the switch.

"See? Told ya no one broke in."

"I wouldn't count on that," Knox replied as he pointed to Cameron and Conrad.

Erwin wondered what Knox was pointing at only to see the duo frozen in place, Cameron giving an awkward smile and wave as Erwin stared at him.

"Fletcher? What are you and that Servo doing in my dorm?"

"I can explain, Pries," Cameron replied. "It's not what it looks like."

"At least tell me you two didn't see anything."

"Too late for that," Cameron said as he pointed to Axel, the alien giving Erwin a quick wave.

"Damn it," Erwin cursed to himself. "How could I be so stupid to not check the door?"

"We thought the open door meant something was wrong, so we had to investigate," Conrad justified to Erwin.

"Conrad's right," Cameron added. "So don't blame me."

"Hey! Don't make me the scapegoat here!"

"You were the one who insisted we go in, and that's technically the opposite of a scapegoat!"

"Enough!" Knox interrupted, quieting down Cameron and Conrad's argument. "Can someone at least explain what's going on here? I traveled all the way to this campus in the pouring rain, which made the trip here in the first place a pain in my ass for those wondering, on the basis of Erwin calling me so he could show me something important without telling me much, only to get here and be told that I won't be told anything until we get to his dorm. And more importantly, I have no idea who you people are, especially the guy who looks like an alien."

"That's because he is an alien," Cameron said.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. See for yourself."

Knox moved closer to the bed to get a better look at Axel, who in turn watched him carefully as Knox observed his inhuman features. Knox's annoyed expression gradually morphed into one of curiosity, then to a weird combination of shock and amazement.

"Oh my god," Knox mumbled, taking a moment to comprehend what he was seeing. "They do exist..."

"Can we discuss this over breakfast?" Erwin brought up, snapping Knox out of his current state. "I did smuggle out more servings of the free breakfast than I thought, and I'd rather not let all this food go to waste."

Cameron gave Erwin a look as if he were to say "Really? Stealing?"

"Don't look at me like that, Fletcher. I sometimes have to sneak out more of the free meal servings than what I'm allowed to whenever money's tight."

"Enough talk for now," Knox said. "Cause all this talking is making me hungry. Or that it's because I skipped on breakfast this morning. One of the two."

"Knox's right," Erwin agreed. "Food first, chit chat later."


	3. The Clue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mysterious woman wanders Foxbury in the search for something unusual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A somewhat shorter chapter just as a heads up.

She wandered the campus of Foxbury Institute, the few students who were out in the stormy weather paying no attention to her as she walked, which was what she wanted anyway, paying no attention to them in turn as they went on with their routines.

Once she was sure no one else was watching, she searched the area she was in, nearby the two dorm towers, for any clues relating to the whereabouts of her employer's asset, Subject A-22. At least according to what lead she did manage to find, the bartender from the local bar she got a quick drink from claiming he saw an unusual looking figure stumbling towards the campus when he arrived for the morning shift, causing her to immediately abandon her pint and follow the lead to see if it was true. 

The ongoing downpour didn't bother her or hinder her search, the grey, insulated jacket she wore providing basic protection from the elements as she scanned the area for a sign, a clue, anything that could help find Subject A-22, only to find nothing out of the ordinary in return. She was ready to move on to the neighboring university, thinking to herself on how her lead was a dead end after all, when she saw it.

The white hospital wristband, lying in the middle of a puddle in front of her sneakers.

She bent down to pick it up, observing the barcode printed on its side. She used her free hand to dig through her jacket pocket until she found her specialty issued cellphone-like scanning device, scanning the barcode in case it was in fact the clue she was searching for. The beep of the device and the results displaying onscreen confirmed it was indeed the identification wristband belonging to Subject A-22, which was all she needed to know that he was in fact somewhere in this university campus. Standing back up, she faced the twin dorm towers that stood in front of her, deciding to search them first for additional clues. 

"Oh you silly alien," she told herself, not keeping her gaze off the towers. "You know you can't escape the fine folks of SimNation Militech forever."


End file.
